ESTABLISHING FORESTS BY PLANTING 407 



and shape of the opening in the soil depends chiefly upon the size 

 and character of the plant and upon the tool used in making it. 

 A large number of methods are used and a great variety of plant- 

 ing tools have been devised for planting naked-rooted plants of 

 various sizes and in various kinds of soil. In general, all methods 

 may be placed in the following classes: 



a. Those in which the opening is made by compression of the soil. 



6. Those in which the opening is made by removing the soil 

 and piling it at the side of the hole. 



9. Planting Operations where the Opening is Made by Com- 

 pression of the Soil. In the various methods of planting where 

 the opening is made by pressing the soil to one side, cone- or wedge- 

 shaped tools are usually used. An inverted cone-shaped opening or 

 a wedge-shaped slit is made in the soil into which the naked roots 

 of the plant are sunk. When the plant is in position and the 

 roots inserted to the required depth, the soil is pressed in about 

 them. 



Many methods have been practiced and a large number of 

 special implements have been devised for planting trees in open- 

 ings made in the soil by compression. The advantages of these 

 methods of planting are as follows: 



a. The cost is relatively low. 



6. The planting can be done with great rapidity. 



c. The plants can be set with the roots at great depth. 



The cost per thousand for setting plants is from one-third to 

 one-half the cost of planting in holes made with a spade, grub-hoe, 

 or mattock. On suitable soil a man should set from 100 to 200 per 

 hour. The rapidity with which the planting can be done makes 

 it possible to extend the planting over a shorter period of time, 

 and permits its being done at the most favorable time as to season 

 and weather conditions. Plants with long tap roots, such as the 

 oak, chestnut, and some pines, can be planted rapidly by this 

 method and, at the same time, the roots can be placed well down 

 in the soil where moisture conditions are most favorable. 



The disadvantages that result from these methods of planting 

 are usually very great and, on most sites and with most kinds of 

 planting stock, overbalance the advantages mentioned above. 

 The more prominent of these disadvantages are as follows: 



a. In the formation of the planting hole the soil is rendered 

 compact on all sides of the opening. 



